WatchGuard Firebox Cloud (Hourly)

I use WatchGuard Firebox  mainly for perimeter security, secure remote access, and traffic inspection in our organization.

I use WatchGuard Firebox  to control inbound and outbound traffic. For example, we block suspicious IPs, restrict risk applications, and manage VPN access for remote employees. This is very helpful for our company.

WatchGuard Firebox has strong firewalls, intrusion prevention, SSL inspection for encrypted traffic, and an easy-to-use management interface with reliable VPNs.

Regarding SSL inspection for encrypted traffic, almost all traffic is encrypted today, and attackers use that to hide malware or malicious downloads. Without SSL inspection, you are basically blind. After enabling it, we are able to detect risk downloads and suspicious websites that would otherwise pass unnoticed. SSL inspection has a big impact because most threats today are hidden in encrypted traffic.

WatchGuard Firebox has improved visibility and control over the network traffic and reduced unauthorized access attempts. It is helpful in our organization and very impactful for using and giving services to clients. We see fewer suspicious connections reaching internal systems and have better control over user internet access. It is a very helpful tool for us, and our employees are also using it in the best and most protected way.

Reporting  and advanced threat analytics can be improved in WatchGuard Firebox.

Performance tuning is required when multiple features such as SSL inspection and IPS are enabled together.

On the positive side, WatchGuard Firebox is reliable for day-to-day network security, firewalling, IPS, VPN, and even SSL inspection in our environment. It gives good visibility and control over the traffic, and the UI makes it easy to manage policies and respond quickly when something comes up. Where it loses a couple of points, advanced analytics and reporting are not as deep as some higher-end firewalls. The threat intelligence and detection depth is decent, but not top-tier. When you enable multiple features such as IPS plus SSL inspection together, performance tuning becomes important. Overall, it is a strong and practical solution.

I have been using WatchGuard Firebox for around two to three years.

WatchGuard Firebox is stable in our experience.

WatchGuard Firebox scales well depending on the model used.

Support is very responsive and very helpful.

Before moving to WatchGuard Firebox, we were using mixed basic firewall setups, mainly Sophos XG  Firewall in our environment and some older edge devices in another. The main reason we decided to switch was around usability and consistency. With the earlier setup, policy management was complex and time-consuming. Troubleshooting during an incident took longer. Performance dropped when multiple security features were enabled.

When I evaluated WatchGuard Firebox, a few things stood out. The interface was much simpler, so day-to-day management became easier. There was better balancing between security features and performance. VPN setup and management were more straightforward. Overall, there was less operational overhead for the team. It was not that the previous solution was bad, but for our use case, we needed something that was easier to manage without compromising core security, especially in a small team environment. The switch was more about practical efficiency and smoother operation, not just features.

Overall the setup was quite straightforward, but as with any firewall, proper planning makes a big difference. With WatchGuard Firebox, the initial setup is actually simple. The basic setup, such as interface setup for WAN and LAN and bringing the device online, does not take much time. The web UI setup wizard helps tremendously, especially if you have worked with a firewall before. Licensing was also smooth in our case. Once the device is activated, you just apply the subscription license for features such as IPS and gateway, AV, and SSL inspection. There were no major issues there.

Where things need more attention is the configuration: defining proper firewall policies, setting up VPN for remote users, tuning IPS, and enabling SSL inspection carefully. For example, when we enabled SSL inspection, we had to fine-tune it to avoid breaking certain applications. That is something you usually adjust based on your environment. The basic setup is easy and quick, while advanced configuration requires some tuning and experience. Overall, we did not face major challenges, just the usual tuning expected with any network security devices.

We obtained WatchGuard Firebox through a local partner or reseller, which is the more common approach for hardware firewalls. Since WatchGuard Firebox is typically deployed as a physical appliance at the network edge, it usually comes through an authorized seller or channel partner, not direct vendor procurement. In our case, the partner also helped with the initial setup and licensing, which made deployment smooth.

The ROI has been achieved mainly through reducing network-based incidents and better security control.

Pricing is reasonable compared to other enterprise firewalls, and setup is straightforward.

We evaluated Fortinet and Sophos before selecting WatchGuard Firebox.

Do not rely on default policies. Proper tuning of the firewall rules and security features is very important. WatchGuard Firebox is a practical and reliable solution, especially for organizations that need strong security without too much complexity. I would rate this product an 8 out of 10.

We use it for data loss prevention, firewall, and malware protection.

WatchGuard Firebox  has excellent documentation. The setup and documentation are the best features. WatchGuard Firebox  helps simplify aspects of the job for my clients. The features of WatchGuard Firebox are most valuable for maintaining network security.

Several areas of WatchGuard Firebox have room for improvement, including AI, UI, pricing, support, and implementation integration.

I have six months of experience with WatchGuard Firebox.

I rate the stability for WatchGuard Firebox highly.

WatchGuard Firebox handles scalability well.

WatchGuard Firebox does help reduce bottlenecks. The reduction in system bottlenecks is significant. When comparing WatchGuard Firebox with other vendors such as Fortinet, SonicWall, Palo Alto, and Sophos, WatchGuard Firebox performs competitively.

The deployment of WatchGuard Firebox is straightforward with no significant challenges.

WatchGuard Firebox  is used in my organization for detection and response and firewall functionalities.

The best features of WatchGuard Firebox  are the technical flexibility the product delivers to us.

The most valuable features of WatchGuard Firebox for maintaining our network security include the application control that is integrated in the firewalls.

The solution simplifies aspects of my job by providing cloud management that greatly simplifies our ease of onboarding new engineers and getting them into the technology that is provided. This greatly simplifies our technical difficulties within our tech stack.

For us as an MSP, we experience a reduction in system bottlenecks after implementing WatchGuard Firebox, which translates into a more billable engineer who can do more work in the same time period.

I estimate that it saves me between 10 and 15% of my workload.

The main area for improvement in WatchGuard Firebox is exposing more of the technical configuration in the cloud management, as it would take away the need to do local management on those devices.

The configuration through the cloud is indeed limited, or too limited for some special configurations, and that would be a quick win for us if the settings would be available in the cloud.

I have been using WatchGuard Firebox for about five years.

I would rate the stability of WatchGuard Firebox a nine, as we barely have any issues.

WatchGuard Firebox is a very scalable solution, so the size of clients we try to approach are well within the specs of options that WatchGuard Firebox provides.

I would rate scalability for us a nine.

I find WatchGuard Firebox to be cost-effective. The product you get for the price you pay seems about right to me and to our company.

I would rate the pricing of WatchGuard Firebox a six.

In my opinion, WatchGuard Firebox is more targeted towards the small and medium business branch of customers, where the security is a notch above small and medium-sized businesses. Comparing to Fortinet, WatchGuard Firebox is at least less prone to security exploits.

At least here in Belgium, the delivery times for new hardware are noteworthy.

We deploy WatchGuard Firebox with about 85% on-premises and 15% cloud firewalls.

In my organization, about 10 specialists work with WatchGuard Firebox.

Our clients are mainly small-medium businesses, comprising multiple clients.

The solution requires easier maintenance because all the solution is combined into a cloud portal. If there is any maintenance, updates, or issues, we can get most of the work done through the cloud portal.

We use the spam blocking capabilities as a secondary source of spam analysis; we have a primary solution that filters the bulk. It works and it does the filtering fine, but it is not our main spam solution.

Most of our customer base, or 95%, is easily integrated with the solution that WatchGuard Firebox provides, either through some links that we have to connect or just by default connecting to their security stack.

If others are in the same size as our customers, I would recommend WatchGuard Firebox without hesitation.

I give this review an overall rating of eight.

WatchGuard Firebox  is a firewall and security product.

WatchGuard Firebox  provides benefits in terms of security, time saving, resource saving, and cost savings. The price-to-quality ratio is reasonable.

There is room for improvement in WatchGuard Firebox regarding customization and AI functionality. Pricing is another area that could be addressed in future releases.

I have been working with WatchGuard firewalls for approximately 20 years.

My overall experience with WatchGuard's technical support is good. They are responsive, and I would rate their support as a 9 out of 10.

The deployment process for WatchGuard Firebox is straightforward. Implementation requires approximately half a day, and only one person from my side is needed to complete the process.

WatchGuard Firebox is beneficial in terms of finance and provides return on investment through cost reductions.

I work with other vendors aside from WatchGuard depending on customer needs. Sophos is an alternative vendor I use on rare occasions compared to WatchGuard.

I work with WatchGuard Data Loss Prevention in addition to WatchGuard Firebox. My overall experience with software in the IT sphere is quite extensive. I am in a partnership with WatchGuard.

I use WatchGuard Firebox  for our private cloud protection, addressing our needs regarding DLP , firewall, and intrusion detection.

I host solutions for files and honey behind WatchGuard Firebox , but we no longer host websites or anything that would require bottlenecks.

I appreciate the interface and the client of WatchGuard Firebox the most. Many firewalls do not have a client to connect, and instead rely on CLI only. I also use the management server, which is a fully managed server, and I appreciate the feature to schedule operations.

It did reduce system bottlenecks and improve our operational throughput.

The CLI could be improved in WatchGuard Firebox, and I think integration with a cloud solution—such as Microsoft Enterprise and Google Cloud —has room for improvement. It has the feature recently, which is quite good, but it is not very perfect and has been available for only two or three years, while other solutions have had this feature longer.

Due to COVID and other factors, our license for mobile SSL VPN  cannot simply be upgraded; we can only upgrade the number of simultaneous users. I think it could be improved because migrating from Firebox medium to Firebox large is the only solution if we have just a small use case.

I have used WatchGuard Firebox for 15 years, coming from my past enterprise, so the answer to how long I have been using it is quite long.

I do have bugs, but the only bug I have is on products that are late on firmware because they are not subscribed anymore. I know the bugs are fixed, but I cannot have it because it is obsolete. However, I have just one WatchGuard Firebox unit that is licensed, and I have no bugs on it, so I am happy with that. I rate it a nine.

In terms of scalability, I would rate it a seven. Other solutions share the same problem, but six years ago, we had only 300 persons in the company, and WatchGuard Firebox was very good. Due to COVID and other factors, our license for mobile SSL VPN  cannot simply be upgraded; we can only upgrade the number of simultaneous users. I think it could be improved because migrating from Firebox medium to Firebox large is the only solution if we have just a small use case.

I recommend giving the technical support for WatchGuard Firebox a nine on a scale from one to ten.

I do not have the choice to compare WatchGuard Firebox with other solutions or other vendors because my internet provider works with Fortinet for all our agencies. The Fortinet solution is in the MPLS setup, but that choice was made by the provider, not us.

The deployment is easier, so I would say it is easier rather than complex.

I have used WatchGuard Firebox for 15 years, and because I know the product, deploying a Firebox just takes a few hours for me.

It is difficult to estimate the return on investment with WatchGuard Firebox, but I would say it is around twenty to thirty percent.

I do not pay the bill, so I feel comfortable about the pricing, and for me, it is not expensive. I think it is a little cheaper in comparison with other solutions; Cisco is more expensive and I think Fortinet is also more expensive.

We had mostly twenty Firebox units, but now we have just one which is licensed, while the others are not licensed anymore because we go to an MPLS solution with our provider, so I use WatchGuard Firebox less than in the past.

In IT, we have five people in production and around seven persons in development, which represents how many users work with WatchGuard Firebox in my organization. Overall, the company has about eight hundred or nine hundred persons.

I have been working in IT for twenty years.

I am not concerned about the spam blocking capabilities right now since we work with Google for email, and we are migrating to M365, so it is not behind WatchGuard Firebox. In the past, around seven years ago, I was concerned; however, I am not sure if it has improved since then, so I cannot give a rating for that.

I recommend WatchGuard Firebox and would give it a nine in terms of recommendation. Overall, I rate this product a nine.